ELLINWOOD —Ellinwood Grade School hosted a Quality Assurance Review visit on April 15, 2011 and received its North Central Association/AdvancED accreditation for another five-year term.

This process engages the entire school community in a process of self-evaluation, reflection and improvement. It invites external scrutiny and welcomes the constructive feedback of peers.

Schools and districts benefit from accreditation through objective peer review, attainment of high standards, and engagement in continuous improvement. Through accreditation, schools and districts receive an external mark of quality; become part of an international network of 23,000 schools and districts in 65 countries; and gain access to a wide range of resources, professional development, and tools to assist them with continuous improvement. Students benefit from accreditation because, through the accreditation process, their school or district has committed to raising student performance and will be held accountable for improving student learning on a continual basis.

Dr. Nancy Bolz, director of Kansas NCA, said "Ellinwood Grade School is to be commended for choosing to engage in a process that increases the quality of education for their students beyond the compliance of the state’s required Quality Performance Accreditation system in Kansas. While the state system involves a very political and singular focus on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the NCA/AdvancED process facilitates monitoring quality across seven standards."

These standards are:

•Vision and purpose

•Governance and leadership

•Teaching and learning

•Documenting and using results

•Resources and support systems

•Stakeholder communications and relationships

•Commitment to Continuous improvement